


You Can't Smile All The Time

by ZanzaFlux



Series: Slice of Life. [8]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 08:42:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11688090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZanzaFlux/pseuds/ZanzaFlux
Summary: Bendy has a problem and June is going to solve it.  Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?





	You Can't Smile All The Time

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on the 2D Bendy AU created by @shinyzango on Tumblr.

June knew something was up when she got a phone call from her brother.

_“Hey June-Bug.”_

“Hey old man, what’s up?” Henry was quiet for just a moment. That got her attention right away.

_“Umm, would you mind if Bendy and I come by for a few days._ ” He sounded so tired.

“Sure… Is something wrong?” There was another pause. Yup, something was up.

_“You know what, I’ll tell you when we get there.”_ That made her frown a little. She didn’t press him on it though. She knew Henry would rather talk in person than over the phone.

“Alright. We’ll talk when you get here.” They said their goodbyes and June was left with the nagging feeling that it might have something to do with Bendy.

  
**-A Few Days Later-**

  
June was working on her garden in the front yard when Henry finally pulled up. She stood up and wiped her hands on an old rag as she waited for the duo to exit the car. She sighed softly at what she saw. Henry looked really tired. He kept rubbing at his face and wincing like he had a really bad headache. He looked like he barely had the energy to grab his bag from the back seat. Then Bendy stepped out of the car and June frowned.

Usually the good natured and energetic toon would be running up to her for a hug. Instead, he stood there and wrung his gloved hands together. He had a smile on his face, but it was very strained. His eyes kept darting all over the place. He looked very skittish and she didn’t like it.

June walked up to them and greeted them both. She gave Bendy a hug and noticed how he stiffened in her arms. She asked him what was wrong. He just laughed and said it was nothing. Then he ran into the house. She turned her questioning gaze to her brother, but he didn’t look up to giving her answers just yet. She pulled Henry in for a hug. He practically slumped in her arms. “Hey bro, why don’t you head on in. You look like you could use some rest.” He agreed and they both headed into the house.

Bendy was sitting on the living room floor with the girls. They were chatting away, although June noticed how jumpy the toon was. He would put on a smile for the girls. It just didn’t look as relaxed as it normally did.

Henry slumped onto the couch and closed his eyes. He asked June to give him an hour and he’d be ready to talk. She decided to give him two. He looked like he really needed it.

June was busy getting dinner ready when she heard the front door open. A chorus of “Hi’s” rang out from the little group. She stood in the doorway and watched as Jason gave the kids a hug. Again, Bendy seemed to stiffen and apologized saying that he was just tired. Her husband just stood there for a few minutes. He watched as the toon went back to talking with the girls. When he looked up, he had a slight confused look on his face. Jason quietly walked passed Henry, not wanting to wake him and made his way towards the kitchen.

“Is something wrong with Bendy?” He looked very concerned.

June went back to preparing the food. “I’m not sure. I think so, but I haven’t spoken to Henry about it yet.” Jason hummed softly. He knew June would stop at nothing to fix the problem.

Henry woke up just as June finished fixing dinner. The meal was not as lively as it usually was. They weren’t talking as much and their was barely any laughter. Bendy was picking at his food and wouldn’t even look at June. Oh, she definitely needed to have a talk with Henry.

After dessert, the girls took Bendy upstairs to play a few games. That left the adults alone in the kitchen.

“Alright bro, what’s going on with Bendy?” Henry gave her a tired smile. Leave it up to his sister to get right to the point. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed softly.

“He’s had a rough couple of weeks.” He ran his hand down his face just as Jason handed him a beer. He took it gratefully.

“How so?” June opted for a cup of coffee.

“Things were looking up. Bendy was playing with the kids and some of the adults were leaving him alone.” Henry closed his eyes and took a sip of beer. “Then the local church group found out about him. And the harassment began.”

“Oh no…” June was shaking her head.

“They would come to our house, trying to push their pamphlets on me. Tell me I shouldn’t allow Bendy to be around the kids because he was a demon. That he was dangerous.” Henry looked very angry at that moment. “They don’t know anything about him! He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

Jason put his hand on Henry’s shoulder. “We know. Those idiots don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“If they just spent time with him, they’d know he's not dangerous.” June’s eyes looked a little distant before she focused on Henry again. “Lemme guess, they’ve been saying these things directly to him?” He just nodded and June groaned. “No wonder he’s been acting funny. If it were me, I’d be mad as hell.”

She watched as Henry winced and rubbed his temples. He looked like he was in pain. He was doing that when he got out of the car.

“Are you alright?” She reached across the table and brushed the tips of her fingers against his forehead. His eyebrows were creased in pain. “I have aspirin.” He gently nudged her hand away and told her it was just stress. June gave him a look that clearly said she didn’t quite believe him.

The adults talked for a bit longer before they headed upstairs. June peaked in on the kids to find them already asleep. Bendy tossed and turned on his cot. She couldn’t leave him like that. She entered the room quietly and sat on the edge of his cot. She reached out and stroked the tips of his horns softly. June watched as his features relaxed and he curled up under the covers. ‘ _Poor thing.’_

After a few minutes, she walked out of the room to find Henry standing in the hall. “He hasn’t been sleeping well, huh?”

“No, not really.” Henry was rubbing his temples. June just shook her head and pushed him off to the guest room, telling him that he needed rest too. He chuckled but didn’t argue with her.

As June joined her husband she swore she’d get to the bottom of the problem and help her nephew and brother.

  
**-The Next Day-**

  
Back home, Henry tried his best to help his friend. Bendy was getting more and more stressed and refused to talk about it. He kept saying he was fine and it’ll all blow over soon. But it didn’t. Bendy had a hard time relaxing. Even being around the children didn’t help. When Henry suggested they visit June, the toon practically begged him not too. No matter how many times he asked, Bendy wouldn’t tell him why. And because of the bond they shared, Henry could feel everything. No matter how calm he was, it couldn’t drown out the negative feelings building up in the toon. It was affecting him physically as well. Those emotions were pounding against his mental walls and causing him to have a head ache he couldn’t get rid of.

This is why they were here with June and her family. He thought maybe the change in scenery would help the little toon. Instead of relaxing, something else was building on the storm of emotions already swirling through him: fear. Henry didn’t know what was causing it.

The one time he got Bendy to sit down long enough to talk to him, the toon looked like he wanted to run.

“We shouldn’t have come here…” Ink started running down the side of his face. He reached up to try to push it back into place.

“Why?” Henry was confused. The toon loved spending time with his family. What was he so afraid of?

Bendy shook his head and began to mumble “I-I don’t know if I can keep it together. They’ll be so afraid…” He began clutching at his head. Henry reached out to touch the toon’s shoulder. He jumped slightly and looked at the man with wide eyes.

“Buddy, what’s wrong? What are you talking about?” A look of guilt crossed the toon’s face. He jumped off the couch and excused himself, saying he needed some fresh air. He ran passed Henry and headed for the back door. He almost bumped into June on his way through the kitchen. She called out to him, but he wouldn’t stop. She watched him go before turning to Henry. Her eyebrows were creased in concern and she was frowning.

Henry spent the entire day watching June as she tried to talk to the toon. Bendy used every trick in the book to keep from answering her questions. He often used the girls as a distraction. He would be playing with them with a strained smile on his face, sounding overly cheery. As soon as they weren’t looking, the smile would drop and wrung his hands nervously.

It got to the point where June was getting fed up. Henry could see it in her eyes. She was determined to get him to talk, even if it meant tying him down. Henry chuckled and hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

  
**-A Day of Reckoning-**

  
The next morning went about the same as the day before. Bendy barely touched his food. He refused to make eye contact with anyone. Even the girls noticed how squirrelly he was acting and asked him if he was alright. He would just smile that fake smile and tell them they had nothing to worry about. No one was buying it.

June had to put a stop to this. Bendy looked miserable and she wasn’t going to put up with this anymore.

“Hey Jason?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you do me a favor and go shopping for me?”

“Umm, sure, I guess.”

“And take the girls with you.” That got his attention. She looked at him and he knew she was up to something.

“I need to have a little talk with my nephew.” Ah, now he understood. He hugged her. “Don’t be too hard on him. He’s going through something.”

She leaned against him and sighed softly. “I’ll try.”

Twenty minutes later, Jason called out for the girls, telling them they were heading to town. When Bendy asked why he couldn’t go, Jason told him it was just a quick trip and they would be back in no time. The toon didn’t like that but reluctantly agreed when he heard they would be taking ‘Lucy’. He didn’t think he could take a ride in that noisy truck right now.

Bendy sat on the couch rocking slightly. He was staring down at his gloved hands as he mumbled to himself and twiddled his thumbs.

Henry watched him from the doorway to the kitchen. He didn’t know what June was planning, but he hoped it would work. The poor toon couldn’t go on like this. He turned to the sound of his sister pouring two glasses of ice tea. She had a calm look on her face but her eyes showed that she was ready to confront the problem head on.

“June-Bug, whatever you’re planning, just be careful.”

“We’re just gonna have a little talk, that’s all.” She left the glasses on the counter as she headed for the living room. She stopped at the edge of the couch and watched as her nephew refused to look at her.

“Bendy, sweetheart, why don’t you come sit out back with me.” The toon just shook his head.

“Bendy.” She said in a sterner tone. It made the toon wince. He knew she wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer. He slid off the couch and shuffled his way to the back door. June grabbed the ice teas and followed him out the door.

They both took a seat at the picnic table. She handed him his glass as she sat down next to him. They sipped the sweet tea for a few minutes before June cleared her throat.

“Henry told me about what happened back at home.” Bendy groaned softly. He didn’t want to talk about this. “I want you to tell me what happened. Please.” The toon sighed. She wasn’t giving much choice.

He started telling her how everything seemed to be fine. Then some adults came up to him and the kids. They pulled the children away and started calling him a monster. The kids were even crying and that made him so angry. Bendy slammed the glass down on the table hard enough that June thought it might shatter.

She blinked. That was the first time the toon admitted that he was angry at the situation. She didn’t say anything. This was something the toon needed to get off his chest.

Bendy stood up from the table and began to pace. He started to rant about how he’d never hurt anyone. How he would never hurt a child. He even told her about how they tried to throw Holy Water on him. If Henry wasn’t there to push them away, who knows what would have happened.

As he paced, he pressed his fists against his face. June could see the ink running down the side of his face. He walked a few feet away from her and collapsed in the grass. She could see the ink bubbling on his back. June scowled. She had never seen the toon this aggravated before. She got up and walked over to him. He mumbling to himself.

“Bendy. Just let it go.” She wanted him to release all that anger. It looked like it was causing him pain as he tried to keep it all in.

He shook his head. “I c-can’t. I don’t- you don’t understand!”

June watched as a puddle of ink began to form under him. He was practically curled up in the middle of it.

“Bendy. It’s okay. You need to do this. It’s doing you no good holding it in like this!” The stubborn toon refused.

June just stood there and watched him writhe around on the ground. She didn’t understand it. He was making things worse. All she wanted was to help him and he wouldn’t let her.

June crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. She was going to have to push him. She hated to do this, but he was leaving her with very little choice. Hopefully this will help and she could make it up to him later. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for what she was about to say.

“Maybe they're right.” Bendy seemed to freeze in place before turning his head in her direction. “What?”

June gave him the coldest stare she could muster. “I kinda see where they’re coming from. Why they’re so scared to have their kids near you.” The look of utter betrayal on his face nearly broke her heart.

“I would never hurt those kids…” The ink was rising higher off his back and dripping down his arms. Even his little horns seemed to be melting.

“I used to believe you, but now, I’m not so sure.” She waved a hand in his general direction. “Just look at you.”

He was getting angry. Really angry. His visible eye seemed to shrink and shudder as he stared at her. She needed to stand her ground, but it was hard. She'd never seen him this angry and it was very unnerving.

“Why are you saying this?” He growled out. “You know me aunt June!” His hands were balled into tight fists against his sides. His whole body began to shake. He was hunched over and panting through clenched teeth.

He was so close. Just one more push. _‘I’m sorry sweetheart. I hope you can forgive me for this.’_

June just shook her head. “I’m sorry Bendy. I think you should stay away from the girls from now on. The way you are now, you’ll hurt them.”

Time seemed to stop. Bendy’s face was frozen between shock and horror. That soon changed as he leveled a withering glare at June. He threw his head back and let loose a blood curdling scream before his entire body exploded in a fountain of ink!

The force of the explosion knocked June onto her back. She watched as the ink rose higher and higher into the air. She scrambled back as she watched the ink transform into something huge. Thick muscular arms with huge clawed hands began to form from the main body. Her heart began to race when she saw his head form long, thick, curving horns. He had a huge grin full of sharp teeth with long fangs protruding passed the rest. What really had her shaking was his one visible eye. She could barely see the tiny pin prick of light staring down at her.

Bendy hunched over and began to growl. The sound was deep and strong enough to cause the ground to shake. He began to flex his claws before he slammed one large hand down just a few feet away from her body. By this time, his massive head was looming over her. He opened his mouth and let loose a roar so deafening that June needed to cover her ears. Even that didn’t help. Her insides shook and her breath was cut short. By the time he stopped, the woman was curled up on her side and shaking badly.

  
**-OoOoOoOoO-**

 

Henry knew something was wrong when he felt a sharp pang of anger in the back of his mind. He knew it wasn’t his. The last time Bendy was this enraged, they were in the Studio. He didn’t know what June said to him but he needed to get outside before something bad happened. Unfortunately, by the time he reached the back door, there was a rumble that knocked him off his feet and shook everything in the house. _‘Oh no!’_

He got to his feet and swung the door open just in time to see the nightmare form of Bendy roaring in June’s face. His sister was curled up with her hands covering her ears. He could see her shaking as Bendy was growling at her.

“June!” Henry started to run towards her. She raised her head just enough to shake it. He stopped in place. She didn’t want him to come any closer?

June was expecting a lot of things. She was expecting him to maybe yell at her, call her names, and maybe throw a temper tantrum. She wasn’t expecting him to transform or to be looming over her right now. Sighing internally, she started this and now she needed to finish this… no matter how scared she was.

June rolled onto her hands and knees. She tried not to look him in the eye or she would loose her nerve. She didn’t have to look at him to know he was glaring at her. June was still quite shaky as she slowly stood up. Her legs felt very wobbly at the moment and she hoped they wouldn’t give out on her. His constant growling wasn’t helping much either. She looked up at him and tried to swallow passed the lump forming in her throat. He was studying her.

She cleared her throat. “Do… you feel b-better now?” His eye narrowed and she thought she heard his growl pitch up in a questioning manner.

June tried to take a step but her legs were shaking too much and gave out on her. She yelped when he caught her. He wrapped his hand around her. It was a gentle hold that was meant to steady her. The look on his face was still full of anger but it was also tinged with concern.

_‘Heh. No matter what he looked like on the outside, he’s still the same on the inside.’_ June thought as she tried to get her nerves under control. She sighed and tried again.

“Do you feel better now? Because it looks like you’ve been holding all of this in-” she waved her hand at him, “for quite some time.”

Bendy stopped growling abruptly. He blinked a few times before his visible eye widened. His eye swiveled about before landing back on June. He could feel her shaking in his hand, but she was looking up at him expectantly. He closed his eye and grimaced. The one thing he didn’t want to happen, just happened, and she was scared of him now.

She tapped one of his large fingers gently to get his attention. “Bendy? Sweetheart, it’s alright. I made you angry on purpose.” She gave him a shaky smile when he looked surprised. “You needed to let all this go. Holding it in was doing more harm than good.”

He lowered his head. He felt ashamed for blowing up at her like that. She was only trying to help. She reached out and brushed the tips of her fingers against his face.

“I didn’t mean the things I said. I know it hurt you. I’m so sorry.” A look of frustration crossed her face. “You wouldn’t talk to me and I didn’t know what else to do! I don’t like seeing you like that…”

Bendy whined softly and brought June closer. He pressed his massive head against the palm of her hand. He was sorry too. He didn’t mean to loose his temper.

“Wait a minute!” She pulled her hand away and he felt a little disappointed. She was frowning now. “Were you worried that we might see you, like this!?” He huffed and looked away.

“Oh come on!” She sounded exasperated. “We’re your family! We accept you as you are.” She pressed her hand just under his eye and he looked back at her. “You don’t have to hide this from us. I’ll admit, you really scared me, but I know it’s still you.” She tilted her head and gave him a warm smile. “And like you told me before: You’d never hurt any of us.”

He smiled ruefully and pressed his forehead against her own. He could feel tears pooling in the corner of his eye. He shouldn’t have doubted her. He let what those people said and his own fears get the better of him. “You can be just as stubborn as Henry sometimes.” That made him chuckle.

Speaking of Henry… He could feel those negative emotions fade into the background. They were still there, but it wasn’t as strong anymore. Henry made sure Bendy felt the warmth of love and acceptance from him. He wasn’t surprised by what happened. June did the same thing to him when he needed it. He watched as Bendy nuzzled June as gently as he could and she laughed. It was relatively quiet…

Until the peace was shattered by the rumble of a big rig pulling up to the side of the house!

Bendy’s eye flew wide open and he looked towards the truck. He looked back at June and whined softly. She patted him on the cheek.

“Just stay calm. They were gonna find out sooner or later. Everything will be fine.” The ink demon huffed and lowered her to the ground. He held her just long enough to make sure she was steady and let her go. They both watched as Jason helped the girls out of the rig.

“Hey June, we’re back! Did everything go alriii- WHAT THE HELL!?” Out of instinct, he grabbed the girls, pushing them behind him. June was standing in front of something very large hunched over in their backyard! It was waving at them shyly and had an extremely fanged grin on it’s face. The girls peeked around their father and gasped.

“Is that… cousin Bendy?” Sarah was looking to Beth for an answer.

“I-I think so.”

June waved her hands at them and yelled across the yard. “It’s okay Jason! It’s Bendy!”

Jason looked shocked and the girls managed to wiggle out of his weak grip. They ran up to Bendy just as he held out his massive hand to them. He watched as both girls poked and studied his fingers before climbing up into his palm. He cupped one hand under the other to make sure they wouldn’t fall and raised them closer to his face. They weren’t scared at all. If anything, they looked excited. The girls were asking him a bunch of question that he would have to answer later.

Jason walked up to Henry and asked what happened.

“Well, this is the result of June having “a little talk” with him.”

Jason ran his fingers through his hair. “Oh man, I told her to be GENTLE.” Henry laughed.

“Gentle? How long have you been married to her? You should know better by now.” Jason gave the scene before him a lopsided grin. June had a habit of plowing through problems like a bulldozer.

  
**-OoOoOoOoO-**

  
The first thing Bendy did when he turned back to normal was to run up to June and hug her. He kept apologizing over and over again. She stopped him before he could tear up again.

“I’ll accept your apology if you accept mines. I didn’t mean those hurtful things I said.” The toon gave her a tired smile and agreed. That was the first real smile she’d seen since he got there and it made her happy.

“Just don’t do that again.” She flicked one of his horns with her fingers playfully. “You don’t have to smile all the time. You’re allowed to get angry. It’s natural, silly.” He winced but couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face.

Bendy seemed relaxed and almost back to normal. He tried to explain what happened to Sarah and Beth. They seemed to take it all very well. Dinner went by a lot better than the night before. There was a little more talking and laughing this time around. Bendy even got his appetite back, much to the delight of everyone.

June could tell Bendy was tired. Henry had told her that that particular form could really take a lot of the toon. Jason took the girls up to bed, but Bendy didn’t want to join them just yet. Instead he was curled up halfway in June’s lap as she sat on the couch. He was dozing softly while June absentmindedly rubbed his horns with the tips of her fingers. Henry was on the other end of the couch, telling her about the bond.

“So, that’s what was causing your headaches?”

“Yeah.”

“Does that happen a lot?” Henry shook his head.

“Nah, not really. I mean, we’re still learning how it all works-” He rubbed at his temples. The pressure and pain was gone. “but it wasn’t this bad before.” Bendy hummed and curled up against June more. She sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You know, I got the impression that he was more worried about your reaction then anyone else.” Henry stated. June shook her head. “He shouldn’t have been. I love him. I thought he realized that.”

“Heh, he does now. Thanks June-Bug.” She gave her brother a crooked smile.

“You two are too much alike.” Henry groaned softly. “Remember when you came home from the service. You were walking around for months, trying to pretend everything was fine. Mom and Dad saw right through that.”

“Yeah and you took it upon yourself to fix the problem.” Henry gave her a sideways glance.

“Man, I bugged you until you couldn’t take it anymore. That was one of the few times you ever yelled at me.” She brushed her fingers along the toon’s cheek. “Afterwards, you came to me and apologized. I was just happy you got it out of your system.” She laughed softly. “Bendy’s picked up your stubborn streak.”

She should have known it wouldn’t be that easy with the little toon. Still, she got the results she was hoping for.

“You guys still have a few more days here. Maybe we can find something fun to do, together.” Her brother agreed.

June watched as Henry got up, lifted Bendy into his arms, and began heading for the stairs.

June sighed and sagged into the couch cushions. She suddenly felt very tired. _‘Man, what a day.’_

 

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea in the back of my mind for awhile now. It didn't go in the direction I thought it would, but I'm happy with the results.


End file.
